Football Wins Thriller in OT at Rowan, Sets Up NJAC Title Game Against Kean

Glassboro, NJ (11/5/11) – Early in the day at
Richard Wackar Stadium, Montclair State found itself in a 21-point
hole. By day’s end, the Red Hawks put themselves in position for the
NJAC Championship.

Senior running back Chris D’Andrea (Union, NJ / Union)
scored from a yard out in overtime to give the Red Hawks a thrilling
37-31 victory over Rowan on Saturday afternoon. The comeback win by MSU
setup a showdown next Saturday at Sprague Field as Montclair hosts
Kean University at 1:00 pm. Both teams come in at 8-1 overall, 7-1 in
the NJAC with the winner claiming the conference crown and automatic
bid to the NCAA Division III Playoffs.

D’Andrea’s short plunge capped off game that was filled with
comebacks within the game plus outstanding efforts as Montclair posted
its sixth straight victory against Rowan dating back to 2006, the last
time MSU needed overtime to settle a contest.

Rowan had the first possession in the extra period however the
Profs missed a 39 yard field goal that hit the left upright.
Montclair started at the 25 yard line. After being stopped on first
down and an incomplete pass on second down, MSU faced a 3rd-and-10 from
the 25. D’Andrea broke free for a 24 yard run putting the Red Hawks a
yard away from paydirt. On the next play, D’Andrea rushed up the middle
for the winning touchdown.

Rowan jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter as Louie
Biachini (West Long Branch, NJ / Red Bank Catholic) threw a pair of
touchdown passes while Geno Raman (Mullica Hill, NJ / N. Kingston, RI)
returned an interception 57 yards for a score. But Montclair would get a
touchdown back with 3:38 to play before halftime as Drew Cathey (East Rutherford, NJ / Becton Regional) hitDan Keegan (Fairfield, NJ / West Essex) for 34 yards as MSU trailed 21-7 at intermission.

The combo would connect again in the third quarter for a 12-yard score and, after aJake DelVento (Island Heights, NJ / Toms River South) 28-yard field goal, Montclair took the lead as Cathey hit Byron Lewin (Carteret, NJ / Carteret) for a 38 yard score as Montclair went up 24-21 with 10:45 to go.

Then the wildness that became the final five minutes kicked
in. Bianchini found Eddie Eisenhart (Mullica Hill, NJ / Clearview
Regional) for a 38-yard touchdown pass to put Rowan up 28-24 with 3:52
left. Montclair marched right back down the field with D’Andrea
rumbling in from two yards out to give the Red Hawks a 31-28 lead with
1:26 left.

Rowan got the ball back, but Bianchini was intercepted by C.J. Conway (Folsom, NJ / Hammonton)
at the Montclair 36 with 56 seconds which appeared to seal the game
for MSU. But on the next play, Cathey was stripped of the ball which
was recovered by Rowan at the MSU 35 giving the Profs one final chance.

And Rowan nearly made the most of it, getting down to the MSU 5
with 11 seconds left. Following the timeout, Bianchini hit Dan Reed
(Westmont, NJ / Haddon Township) along the sideline and he tried
desperately to stay inbounds while reaching for the pylon. But safety Chad Faulcon (Cranford, NJ / Cranford) was
able to push him out before reaching the end zone putting the ball at
the MSU 1 with five seconds remaining. After two timeouts, Rowan threw a
quick pass that fell incomplete. Tom Wilczynski (Pine Hill, NJ /
Overbook) came on an hit from 18 yards out sending the game into
overtime.

D’Andrea finished the game with 110 rushing yards as he broke
the Montclair State single-season record for rushing yards. D’Andrea
surpassed Bobby Vannoy’s 1981 record (12 games) of 1,417 yards as he
now has 1,457 yards. Cathey shook off a rough first half and connected
on 21 of 41 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns. Lewin made eight
catches for 127 yards and one touchdown with Keegan hauling in seven
balls for 119 yards and two touchdowns.